Angry Indonesian Mob Kills Nearly 300 Crocodiles After Man’s Death

Villages brutally killed 292 crocodiles in a sanctuary after a man was eaten by one of the animals at a breeding farm.

A furious mob of villagers in Indonesia mercilessly killed nearly 300 crocodiles in a sanctuary in the Indonesian province of West Papua to take revenge.

According to an official, a man was found dead at a breeding farm. It is believed the man was eaten by a crocodile in the Sorong regency.

“An employee heard someone screaming for help, he quickly went there and saw a crocodile attacking someone,” said Basar Manullang, the head of Indonesia’s natural resources conservation agency in West Papu.

The 48-year-old man, whose name hasn’t been given, was reportedly picking up grass from the breeding farm to feed to the animals when he was attacked by one of them.

After burying the man, the angry mob of villagers brutally killed 292 endangered species at the sanctuary with knives, clubs and hammers to avenge the man’s death, said Manullang.

In 2013, the farm was licensed to breed protected saltwater and New Guinea crocodiles for the purpose of preservation and also to harvest some of the reptiles. However, one of the conditions also stated the animals will not trouble the people in the surrounding areas.

Disturbing pictures released by the Antara news agency and Reuters show how hundreds of villagers killed crocodiles of different sizes. Some of them were full grown, while some were young mammals.

“To prevent this from happening again, farming licence holders need to secure surrounding areas,” said Manullang. “Crocodiles are God's creatures that need to be protected too,” he added.

The police officials said they could not stop the attack from happening, but they might press charges against the villagers for killing the reptiles.

Even though what happened with the deceased man was unfortunate, the villager’s emotional outburst that took away the lives of hundreds of crocodiles was not justifiable and makes it very clear that a lot needs to be done to stop animal cruelty.